Date: August 13, 2015
Source: Field Museum
Summary: Scientists have identified a new species of pre-mammal in what is now Zambia.
Thanks to a unique groove on the animal's upper jaw, it was dubbed Ichibengops, which combines the local Bemba word for scar, and the common Greek suffix for face. Put simply: Scarface. Believed to be roughly the size of a dachshund, Ichibengops lived around 255 million years ago, and was a member of Therocephalia, a group of ancient mammal relatives that survived the largest mass extinction in history (the Permian-Triassic extinction). The species description was published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology by University of Utah, University of Washington and Burke Museum, and The Field Museum.
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